


Astairway to Heaven ("...between a rock and a bark place" - sequel)

by RecoveringTheSatellites



Series: Trope-a-palooza [6]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Dog!POV, Don't copy to another site, F/M, Ginger is back, You Have Been Warned, and oh so much fluff, this is so flufferific
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:15:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27355603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RecoveringTheSatellites/pseuds/RecoveringTheSatellites
Summary: Do you remember Ginger?She hopes you do.She's back for another installment, mostly because there was no way she wasn't going to get a sequel.So here are Emma and Killian, through the eyes of a dog with Opinions(TM).So fluffy it hurts.It's a sequel to...between a rock and a bark place- and i think you do need to read that first..
Relationships: Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan
Series: Trope-a-palooza [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1450798
Comments: 29
Kudos: 35
Collections: Captain Swan Pupstravaganza





	Astairway to Heaven ("...between a rock and a bark place" - sequel)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [profdanglais](https://archiveofourown.org/users/profdanglais/gifts).



> HAPPY BIRTHDAY @profdanglais!
> 
> i was going to wax poetic, but then i remembered i'm not a poet, and also, none of the languages we speak has the requisite words, so all i will say is this:  
> You're the best thing that ever happened to me, so i hereby humbly offer you this flufferific little gift and remind you that this is ALL YOUR FAULT.  
> .  
> (Except for the title. i take full responsibilty for the potentially lethal amounts of punnage.)
> 
> .  
> LOVE & HUGS.

I met the love of my life on a cold day.   
Well, I didn’t meet him, exactly, we were introduced.

Actually, he was brought to me. Kind of.

I can see I’m confusing you already, I’m sorry. I’m kind of loopy in love, let me start over.

You remember me, right? Ginger? Who lucked out and found a home with Emma, the best human in the world, after being tied to the side of Route 412?

And who managed (through a risky plan with no regard for life and limb) to get Emma and this other human named Killian together after they had been making googly eyes at each other for months? 

Ah, I see you do remember. Good. 

OK. Where was I?

Oh, right. The love of my life.

So on this particular random afternoon, while outside frost is starting to crack branches, I am snuggling on the couch with Emma who is getting very big these days. I mean, I’ve been watching her increase in size for a while now, and it wasn’t so much in the beginning, but now she is gigantic and it has to be really uncomfortable. She’s rubbing her belly a lot, probably because it’s heavy, and I can hear a really high-pitched heartbeat.

Which is neat.

But these days I can also sense movement, which is very strange, and so I’ve started to curl up next to her instead. Even though her lap is my favorite place in the whole world. It’s good I did though, because honestly, these days my head hardly fits anymore.

Also, Emma spends a lot of time on the couch these days, and I mean  _ a lot _ . She has stopped going to work, which I think is only sensible, given that her work involves dealing with loud people who smell like the bar down the street, and people who complain about things called  _ lawn ornaments _ . I don’t know what those are, but apparently they are very important. She also has to occasionally chase people on foot - none of which I think she should be doing anymore.

It seems Killian has been thinking the same thing for a while now, because something called  _ maternity leave _ started creeping into a lot of his sentences, and I don’t know what that is either, but if it makes Emma rest more, I’m all for it.

More couch time with Emma means more naps and pets. You really can’t lose with that.

Anyway.

I’m on the couch with Emma, dozing as she scratches my head, when the door opens and Killian mumbles something and then comes in and says, “Emma, love? Are you awake?”

Now, that part isn’t unusual. He says that almost every time he comes home these days, because it turns out that Emma has become an excellent napper as well.

I must be a good influence.

The thing that’s different this time is that Killian has that expression on his face, the one he gets when he’s about to apologize profusely for something. Like the time he attempted something called a  _ supersized chocolate chip cookie _ , which took up the whole oven, and nearly ruined his café kitchen. From everyone’s reaction I gather that it should have been smaller.

Or the time he took me to the dog groomer and apparently said the wrong thing, because I came home with practically no fur left at all. I felt a bit naked that summer, I won’t lie.

Well, each of those times he was wearing that exact same expression on his face when he came and talked to Emma, and this time is no different.

Emma looks up and smiles at him, but he is nervous, I can tell. He keeps twisting the ring on his finger, the same one Emma has on hers, and that’s a sure sign that he’s nervous.

I, of course, don’t need a sign.

I can smell his nerves a mile----

And that’s when I realize I can smell someone. 

And oh,  _ Anubis _ . He smells  _ good _ .

Somehow the scent clings to Killian, but it certainly isn’t his, and I can hardly pay attention to what he is saying.

And he is saying things.

There’s something about  _ rescue  _ and  _ kill shelter  _ and also about how  _ black dogs never get adopted  _ \- that cannot possibly be right, can it? - and then there is a scuffling sound at the front door, and dog paws on hardwood, and then.

Oh  _ my. _

There he is.

Emma, who was looking stern just a moment ago while Killian was fiddling with his explanation, looks at this beautiful boy with the shy eyes and the dull black coat and bursts into tears. She’s been doing that a lot, too, so it’s not that unusual, but i think this time the words  _ kill shelter _ got her going, because honestly, they did not sit well with me either, and I don’t even know what that is, exactly.

But it does  _ not  _ sound friendly.

Killian immediately makes a beeline for Emma and I hop off the couch, because she really needs him right now, not me, and also, I have a new acquaintance to make.

I wag my tail harder than I do when Killian bakes me biscuits, but the gorgeous dog in front of me just ducks his head. His tail is going slowly, and he looks unsure and sad and I cannot have that. I do stop to give him a sniff, just because he smells like he was made for me, and then I nuzzle his face, and put my head heavy on his back.

I need to make sure he’s OK.

He relaxes a fraction, even though his head stays ducked. That’s OK, buddy. I know this is all new and strange to you right now. You take your time.

I don’t move, stay with the gorgeous boy, but I do look back up at Emma and Killian. Emma is curled into his chest as best she can, and he is rubbing her belly slowly while she hiccups and makes noises like  _ we can’t keep him, Killian, we’re about to have a baby _ . 

And he says something like  _ they were going to put him down _ , and I don’t know what that is either, but it sounds horrible. It sounds even more horrible when it wrings a whole new set of sobs from Emma. 

I’m a little upset with Killian for making her cry, or I would be, if I didn’t feel in my gut that he did the right thing here, somehow.

And then I hear Killian say,  _ his name is Fred _ . He says his name is Fred, and how on earth could he leave him at the shelter when his name is  _ Fred? _

Emma bursts out laughing. Great, sobbing, hiccuping peals of laughter.

OK.   
I don’t get it.

She keeps saying  _ Ginger and Fred _ , and laughing more, and I am so confused, but hey, if that convinces her to keep the boy, please.

Call him whatever you want.

Meanwhile Fred is relaxing, and I nudge him to lie down and I nuzzle his nose again and tell him I am happy to meet him. My tail is getting a workout. 

I lie down next to him and let him know that my people are the best people anyone could possibly have, and that they’re his people, too, now, and that everything will be OK.

I do not tell him yet that he’s  _ mine _ , that would be coming on too strong when he’s still a bit spooked. But baby, that boy  _ is _ mine, just you wait.

He lifts his head a bit and sniffs me back and his tail starts to wag a bit more.

See?

Told you.

_ Mine. _

Meanwhile Emma and Killian on the couch are sitting with their foreheads touching, and Killian nuzzles Emma’s nose just like I always do (he stole that move from me, I swear he did), and I know everything is going to be fine and Fred can stay.

Emma looks over at the two of us lying there and whispers,  _ he’s a good boy, isn’t he?, _ and Killian smiles that soft smile he only ever smiles for Emma and says,  _ you’re in love with him already, aren’t you _ , and that’s when Fred gets up, cautiously, and walks over to sniff Emma’s hand.

Emma bursts into tears  _ again _ .

Killian hugs her for a long moment.

Fred licks her hand the whole time. Poor boy. So starved for affection.

I am going to change that.

Then Emma leans back and scratches Fred’s head with one hand while she pats her belly with the other and says something along the lines of not walking  _ two  _ dogs in her condition. But Killian just smiles and kisses her and says, of course not.

He’ll do all the walking.

Which is good. He throws the best tennis balls. I can’t wait to race Fred.

And then Emma accuses Killian of being soft-hearted, and man, the look he gives her.  _ I _ can feel it. He replies that she loves him for it, and Emma promptly starts to sob.

_ Again. _

Fred walks back over to me and I nudge my snout along his neck to let him know it’s OK, that they really are the best people, even if they’re very strange. I don’t tell him that Killian’s ear scritches are the most beautiful thing in the world, short of, well -- Fred himself. (That scent is going to drive me bonkers.)

Let him find out on his own time.

  
  


*

  
  


So that’s the story of how I met the love of my life. 

Fred is  _ wonderful _ . And even more beautiful now that his coat is all glossy and shiny.

He’s a little reserved, still, but we snuggle at night like we’ve been doing it for years, and it’s lovely to have someone next to me, with me. Fred thinks so, too.

He’s shy, but he’s let me know I’m his as well. I may or may not have barked out loud several times when he did, but can you blame me?   
That kind of thing needs a proper announcement.

The only thing is, I woke up the baby.

Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. Emma and Killian have a baby girl now, and she screams a lot, not just when I  _ bark for no reason. _

(I was a little offended at that. I had a very good reason, thankyouverymuch.)

But anyway, they have a little human of their own now, and when she doesn’t scream she smells very nice - like both of them - but she keeps Emma and Killian  _ very  _ busy. And then it’s nice to just hang with my boy when they haven’t walked us all day and both look like they’re going to fall asleep standing up. Fred and I just go out into the yard and chase each other.

Speaking of chasing.

In a few weeks there’s going to be a litter of Freds and Gingers, and when Emma found out she yelled at Killian about  _ not having us fixed _ , and once again, I don’t understand, because we’re not broken.

Killian said he’d take care of it, but maybe I can change his mind.

At any rate, Fred is excited, and so am I.

But now I see Emma on the couch, fast asleep, and Killian is at the café with Fred and the baby, and honestly, I haven’t had enough Emma time in months. So I jump up and plunk down in her lap, and she reaches for my ears, half-asleep, and starts to scratch them like she did back when it was just the two of us, and I get a little misty because my life is so good.

_ You’re a bad girl, Ginger _ , Emma mumbles, and I have no idea what she’s talking about because I haven’t chewed her shoes in weeks, but then she says,  _ but I love you a lot _ .

And falls right back asleep.

And that, people, that right there is why she’s the best.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you @katie-dub for the excellent beta services and also for being the wonderfullest. You know. 💖💖💖


End file.
